Second Gene That Increases MS Risk Found

Discovery called most significant in three decades.

By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter
Monday, July 30, 2007; 12:00 AM

Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

SUNDAY, July 29 (HealthDay News) -- In the most significant genetic breakthrough in multiple sclerosis research in three decades, scientists say they have unearthed a gene that can increase the risk of developing the autoimmune disease by 30 percent.

The gene is only the second genetic risk factor for multiple sclerosis (MS) ever discovered.

The finding of the gene, on chromosome 5, is detailed in two studies in the July 29 online issue of Nature Genetics and confirmed in a third, corresponding study in the New England Journal of Medicine that was released early to coincide with the Nature Genetics report.

"This is the first big step we've taken in 30 years," said Simon Gregory, lead author of the first Nature Genetics paper and a molecular geneticist at Duke University's Center for Human Genetics. "We can start unlocking mechanisms by which the disease is caused and, if we have the mechanisms, we can develop additional treatments. Ultimately, we can start looking for a cure."

"Every time we identify new genes that are associated with increased risk of developing MS, we achieve two things," added Dr. John Richert, executive vice president for research and clinical programs at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, which was a sponsor of the research. "We understand more about the cause of the disease so that eventually we will be able to prevent MS from even occurring. That's a long-term outcome. A shorter-term outcome will be the development of new therapies that are directed at this gene or the gene product so that we will have tremendous direct benefit to people with MS overly a relatively shorter period of time."

MS is a disease of the central nervous system in which the body attacks and destroys the myelin, or insulation, covering nerve fibers. The disease most often attacks people under the age of 55, and symptoms can range from mild muscle weakness to partial or total paralysis. MS is widely believed to occur as a result of both genetic and environmental factors.